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Former Miami Dolphin Player Remains in Hospital After Falling from Boat off Florida Coast

January 11, 2015

(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — A former NFL player remains in the hospital after he fell off a boat and swam about nine miles to the Florida shore, his wife said.

Robert Konrad, who played for the Dolphins from 1999 to 2004, was fishing offshore when he fell from his boat as he was trying to reel in a fish Wednesday night off the coast of Florida near Palm Beach, Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney said.

Facing darkness, 10-foot waves, 25-mile-per-hour winds, and with his boat moving away on autopilot, he started out to swim for shore.

The boat was recovered Friday in Grand Bahama Island with the autopilot still on, according to ABC News affiliate WPBF-TV in Palm Beach.

Konrad said he was in the water for about 10 to 12 hours, swimming approximately nine miles to shore, according to the Coast Guard.

He reached land Thursday morning and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital after exhibiting signs of hypothermia.

His wife, Tammy, said on Saturday he was still in the hospital.

“It is just incomprehensible that this gentleman survived actually, because your temperature is going to drop,” Dr. Scott McFarland with the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center told WPBF-TV.

“It’s almost guaranteed he has muscle damage, muscle cell breakdown, rhabdomyolysis that injures your kidneys, but it’s a testament to a strong heart and a tough body and wickedly strong constitution that he made it,” McFarland said.